Normal driving conditions and suddenly my fan breaks free of the fan clutch. Bolts are all still tight on the clutch. The actual bolt holes broke off the fan. What causes this type of failure?

 

25 year old plastic?

I got nothin

 

Me either…

 

Aged brittle plastic, heat stress, previous accident.....or it was just it's time to fail.

 

Thanks all. I'm at a total loss, especially since the center of the fan is all reinforced with metal. I'll just replace it and see how things go. Everything I have thought of as a possible cause (motor mounts etc...) seem fine.

 

i believe the fan bracket bearing has gone south, thats what the fan bolts to. see if you can spin it by hand, should spin freely.

 

Very well could be the problem.

 

Replace the fan with one from a 93-95 3.0L, as these don't have that outer ring that is also prone to breaking with age...Toyota part number 16361‑65020

 

I've always read the ones with the ring perform better. Any truth to that?

As to how they break, mine broke out of the blue....one of blades cracked, and my nephews just busted on a 3.4 swap we just finished. Just old, brittle plastic I guess.